Machine for applying pressure to shoe bottoms



July 20, 1948. GIH. COLLINS MACHINE FOR APPLYING PRESSURE TO SHOEBOTTOMSFiled May 25, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [r1 veman Eeorgefl Collins July 20,1948. a. H. coLuNS MACHINE FOR APPLYING PRESSURE TO SHOE BOTTOMS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 25:, 1946 [n vemor' Dearge H Collg'ns PatentedJuly 20,1948

MACHINE LFQR APPLYING *PRES SURE TO :SHQE BOTTOMS George H. Collins,Lynn, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington,N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application May'23, 1946, SerialNo.'671,8.07

7 Claims 1 This invention relates to machines .ior applying pressure toshoe bottoms and more particularly to means for supporting the heel endof .a last during an operation on .a shoe carried thereby. The inventionis illustrated herein as embodiedin a machine of the type described inLetters Patent of the United States No. 1,549,243., granted August 111925, on an .application of E. E. Winkley, having a sole-pressing memberor pad arranged to apply pressure to the bottom of a shoe on a last .anda jack for supporting the shoe against the pressure of the oad. It is to.be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to shoesupports for use in machines of that Particular character.

.An object of the invention is to provide an improvedheel abutmentsuitable for use with either high .orlow shoes. 'I!o this end and inaccordance with a feature of the invention, the heel abutment .ispivoted on the head of the machine for movement into and out of registerwith the heel end of the pad, there being means acting to urge theabutment out of register with the heel end of the pad, and means forlocking the abutment in .a position over the heel end of the pad when itis moved into this position by the operator. The heel abutment .includesan extensible supporting member which, during thepressure-applyingoperation, is contracted, there being means operatiyeduring this contraction of the supporting member for releasing a latchby which the abutment is held in position over the .heel .end .of thepad .so that at the conclusion of the pressureapplying operationthehee'l abutment is urged out of said position. An additional latch isprovided which maintains the heel abutment in its contracted conditionso that it may swing .iree of the top of the shoeat the conclusion ofthe pressure-applying operation, the latch being ineffective to maintainthe supporting member in its contracted position after the abutment hasbeen thus moved.

In accordance with a further .feature of the invention the heel abutmentincludes a plate ongageable with the top or the heel portion of thelast, this plate carrying a member which depends therebelowfor-engagement with the forward wall of the heel portion of the last.The ,heel abutment is swingable lengthwise of the pad and in its loadingposition is positioned rcarwardlylof the "heel end of the pad, thearrangement being such that when a last is presented thereto and'isthen, moved forwardly over the pad, engagement .of .the last with themember depending from the aforementioned plate causes the heel abutmentto be 'swungfinto its operativeposition. By moving the last upwardlycausing partial contraction of the supporting means forthe heelabutment, the shoe isreadilypos'itioned over the pad and then is loweredthereon; 'In operat'ing on high shoes it is important that there be nointerference between the upwardly ,pro- .iecting portion of the upperand the last-engaging plate of the heel abutment. Accordingly, .inaccordance with a further feature of. theinventlon, the member carriedby the last-engaging plate flares upwardly .and outwardly thereby tospread the upper outwardly when the lastedshoe is pre sented to theplate.

The above and other features of the invention including various detailsof construction and novel combinations of parts will now be moreparticularly described by reference to the accompanying drawings andpointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

.Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the head of a machine of the type shownand described in the above-mentioned patent with the present inventionapplied thereto;

.Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the heel abutment of Fig. 1 on asomewhat larger scale showing its position at the conclusion of anoperation :on a shoe;

.Fig. .3 iszanend elevation of the heel abutment;

Fig. 41s an .end elevation of the toe and cone upport, and

vFig. 5 is .a front elevation of the heel abutmentsupporting meansillustrating the positions of the parts when pressure is being appliedto the work.

The present invention is illustrated as embodied 'in a'sole-pressingmachine .of the type shown in the v above-mentioned Winkley patent towhich reference .canbehadior a more detailed description of theconstruction, arrangement, and operation ofparts not fully describedherein. machine is provided with a pair of upwardly extending rods IIIwhich guide a pad box I22 for vertical sliding movement. Carried by thepad box [.2 is a resilient sole-pressing pad .14 shaped to conformsubstantially to the .curvatureroi thebottom of ashoe being operatedupon. Aitera shoe has been placed on the, pad .14 the pad box is movedupwardly carrying the shoe into engage ment with :a toe and cone supportIt mounted on ahead 18 secured to the upper ends of the rods ill. Thetoe and .cone support 4.6 includes awe-en aging r0112]! and Ya roll 22engageable with that ,portion of the shoe overlying the cone of thelast. The rolls 20 and 22 are journaled on shafts '24 carried betweenparallel arms 255 which are in turn-secured to a shaft-2B iournaled inspaced depending arms "30 of a post -32. The arrangement of .the Irolls12D and 22 is. such that as the pad box L2 is moved upwardly to applypressure to the shoebottom-the pressures exerted by therolls 20 :and 22.are equalized and undue pressure is not concentrated on any one portionof the last. Injorder to maintain the rails 29. and 22 in approximatelythe proper relative positions a plunger 34 is arranged for slidingmovement in the lower portion of the post 32 and is urged against theshaft 28 by a spring 36 thereby providing sufiicient friction to holdthe arms 26 against swinging movement when the rolls 20 and '22 are notin engagement with a shoe on the pad box.

For supporting the heel end of the shoe against the upwardly directedpressure of the pad box during the sole-pressing operation a heelabutment 4!] is provided. This heel abutment comprises a post 42telescopically received in a sleeve 44 pivoted for swinging movementlengthwise of the pad box on a pin 46 carried by asupport 48 mounted foradjustment lengthwise of the head l8. Pivoted to the lower end of thepost 42 is a plate 56 arranged for engagement with the heel end ofthe'last. The post 42 carries a, pin 52 which projects outwardly througha slot 54 in the sleeve 44 and by its engagement with the sleeve at theopposite ends of the slot limits the movement of the post 42 lengthwiseof the sleeve 44. 1 At the conclusion of a sole-pressing operation theheel abutment assumes the position shown in Fig, 2 into which positionit is swung rearwardly of the heel end of the pad from the positionshown in Fig. 1 by a torsion spring 56 carried by a pin 58 in thesupport 48. One end of the spring 56 bears against the sleeve 44 and theother end bears against a pin 60 in the support 48 but projects upwardlyand rearwardly from the pin for a purpose which will appear hereinafter.The extent of rearward movement of the heel support-is limited byengagement of a lateral projection 62 of the sleeve 44 with an adjacentportion of the support 48. The post 42 rests by gravity in its lowermostposition with the pin 52 in engagement with the sleeve 44 at the lowerend of the slot 54.

Carried by the heel-engaging plate 50 is a lastengaging member 64 whichmay be formed of heavy gage wire bent into the' form shown in Figs. 2and 3, wherein it will be noted that it extends downwardly below theplate 50 and flares outwardly and upwardly. When a shoeis to be placedon the pad box the heel end of the last is held by the operator againstthe plate 50 with the member 64 in engagement with the front wall of theheel end portion of the last and if a high shoe is to be operated uponthe upper portion of the member 64 will spread the upper of the shoeaway from the last sufiiciently to prevent any possibility of the upperbeing pinched between the top of the last and the last-engaging plate.The operator will exert an upward force through the shoe onthe plate 50thereby moving the post 42 upward sufficiently to permit the shoe toclear the top of the pad box when the shoe is swung into position overthe pad box. By the engagement of the member 64 with the last the heelsupport will be swung with the shoe until it is in a vertical positionas illustrated in Fig. 1. When in this position a pin 66 carried by thesleeve 44 inoves into locking engagement with a latch 68 pivoted on thepin 58 and urged into locking position by a spring acting between theleft end of the latch and a pin 12 carried by the support 48-. Theoperator may now lower the shoe into engagementwith the pad box withoutthe possibility of the heel support being forced into its inclinedposition by the spring 56. V

Upon upward movement of the pad box to apply pressure to the bottom ofthe shoe the post42 moves upwardly within the sleeve 44 until the pin 52reaches the upper end of the slot 54. At this time the rolls and 22 arein engagement 4 with the toe and instep portions of the shoe and uponfurther upward movement of the pad box pressure is applied throughthe'grolls 26, 22 and the plate 55 to the bottom of the shoe. Themovement of the post 42 into its uppermost position as shown in Fig. 5causes the latch 68 to be moved upwardly by engagement of the pin 52therewith so that the latch 68 no longer holds the heel support in itsvertical position. It will be thus held,

however, by the pressure exerted thereon until the pressure is relievedby downward movement of the pad box. Journaled on the pin 46 is a latch14 the purpose of which is to sustain the post 42 in its uppermostposition upon downward movement of the pad box and until the heelabutment has returned to its inclined position. This permits the heelabutment to swing into loading position as shown in Fig. 2 withoutinterference with the upwardly projecting upper of a high shoe.Moreover, were the post 42 not so held the latch 68 might move back intolocking en'- gagement with the pin 66 before theheel support started itsrearward swinging movement and it would thus be held locked in verticalposition. The latch 14 engages the under portion of the pin 52 when thepost 42 is moved into its uppermost position, the latch carrying a tail15 Which is acted upon by the upper portion of the spring 56 tending tomove it in a counterclockwise direction into the position shown in Figs.1, 2 and 5 with the tail resting against the pin 60. It will be apparentthat the latch is cammed out of the way during upward movement ofthe'post 42 until the pin reaches its uppermost position whereupon thespring 56 returns the latch 14 into lOcking position.- As soon, however,as the heel abutment swings toward the position shown in Fig.v 2 farenough to carry the pin 66 under the right end of thelatch 66, the pin52 moves out of engagement with the latch 14 whereupon the post 42 movesdownwardly by gravity until the pin 52 engages the sleeve 44 at thelower end of the slot 54.

In using the apparatus the operator presents a lasted shoe to theholddown which is in the position shown in Fig. 2, bringing the top ofthe heel end of the last into engagement with the plate 50.. With themember 64 in engagement with the forward wall of the heel end of thelast the shoe is swung lengthwise ofthe pad box carrying with it theholddown until the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1. Duringthis movement upward pressure is exerted to move the post 42 upwardly sothat the shoe will clear the top of the pad box. With the abutment invertical position it is latched against rearward movement by engagementof the pin 66 with the latch 68 and the shoe is lowered onto the pad I4.The pad box is now moved upwardly by mechanism such as that shown in theWinkley patent until the toe end and instep portions of the shoe engagethe rolls 26,

and 22 respectively. During this movement the post 42 of the heelabutment moves upwardly until the pin 52 reaches the upper end of theslot 54 in the sleeve '44 camming the latch 14 out of the way. When thepin 52 reaches the upper end of the slot the spring 56 moves the latch14 into locking engagement with the pin 52 as shown in Fig. 5 at whichtime the pin 52 acts by engagement with the latchBBto move it out ofengagement with the pin 66. At this time the heel abutment remains inits vertical position despite release of the latch 58 because of thepressure exerted thereon as well asby reason of the engagement'of themember 64 with the last.

At the conclusion of the pressure-applying operation the pad box movesdownwardly carrying the last away from the plate 50 which is maintainedin its elevated position by the engagement of latch 14 with the pin 52.The spring 56 now swings the heel abutment into the position shown inFig. 2. As the heel abutment is thus swung, the plate 50 is maintainedin its elevated position so that it will clear the top of the shoe. Bythus maintaining the post 42 in its uppermost position the latch 68 isheld out of engagement with the pin 66 until it underlies the tailportion of the latch after which the pin 52 moves out of engagement withthe latch 14 and the post 42 slides downwardly under the influence ofgravity, the parts finally assuming the positions shown in Fig. 2.

From the above it will be seen that the heel abutment may be employedwith either high or low shoes and by reason of its mounting, facilitatesloading the work in the machine. When employed with high shoes themember 64 holds the upper away from the plate 50 to eliminate danger ofthe upper being pinched between the last and the plate. The member 64also facilitates positioning of the last relatively to the plate 50 andobviates the necessity of employing a last pm.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for applying pressure to shoe bottoms, a pad forsupporting a sole against which a shoe is to be pressed, a member forpressing a shoe against the sole supported on said pad, a heel abutmentpivotally carried by said member for movements into and out of registerwith the heel end of said pad, means for locking said heel abutment in aposition in which it is located directly over said pad, a spring actingon said abutment to move it out of said position, and means operative inresponse to the application of pressure through said heel abutment on ashoe supported on said pad for releasing said locking means.

2. In a machine for applying pressure to shoe bottoms, a pad forsupporting a sole against which a shoe is to be pressed, a member forpressing a shoe against the sole supported on said pad, a heel abutmentpivotally carried by said member for movements into and out of registerwith the heel end of said pad, means urging said abutment into aposition out of register with the heel end of said pad, means forlocking said abutment in a position over the heel end of the pad inresponse to movement of the abutment into said position, and means forreleasing said locking means.

3. In a machine for applying pressure to shoe bottoms, a pad forsupporting a sole against which a shoe is to be pressed, a member forpressing a shoe against the sole supported on said pad, a heel abutmentcarried by said member, said heel abutment including a plate engageablewith the top of the heel end of the last, and a member carried by saidplate extending below it for engagement with the forward wall of theheel portion of the last and having upwardly diverging portions arrangedto spread the upwardly projecting portion of the upper outwardly of thelast.

4. In a machine for applying pressure to shoe bottoms, a pad forsupporting a sole against which a shoe is to be pressed, a member forpressing a shoe against the sole supported on said pad, a heel abutmentpivotally carried by said memher for movements lengthwise of said pad,means urging said abutment into a position out of register with the heelend of said pad, said heel abutment including a support movablevertically of said pad, a plate carried by said support engageable withthe top of the heel end of the last, and a member carried by anddepending below said plate arranged for engagement by the forward wallof the heel portion of the last enabling conjoint movement of theabutment and a lasted shoe when the shoe is positioned by the operatoron said pad.

5. In a machine for applying pressure to shoe bottoms, a pad forsupporting a sole against which a shoe is to be pressed, a member forpressing a shoe against the sole supported on said pad, a heel abutmentpivotally carried by said member for movements lengthwise of said pad,means urging said abutment into a position out of register with the heelend of sai pad. said heel abutment including a support movablevertically of said pad, a plate carried by said support engageable withthe top of the heel end of the last, and a member carried by anddepending below said plate arranged for engagement by the forward wallof the heel portion of the last enabling conjoint movement of theabutment and a lasted shoe when the shoe is positioned by the operatoron said pad, said member flaring upwardly and outwardly for spreadingthe upwardly projecting portion of the upper outwardly of the last.

6. In a machine for applying pressure to shoe bottoms, a pad forsupporting a sole against which a shoe is to be pressed, a member forpressing a shoe against the sole supported on said pad, an extensibleheel abutment pivotally carried by said member for movements lengthwiseof said pad, means urging said abutment into a position out of registerwith the heel end of the pad, a latch for locking said abutment in aposition over the heel end of the pad when it is moved by the operatorinto said position, and means operative in response to the contractionof said heel abutment upon application of pressure therethrough forreleasing said latch.

7. In a machine for applying pressure to shoe bottoms, a pad forsupporting a sole against which a shoe is to be pressed, a member forpressing a shoe against the sole supported on said pad, an extensibleheel abutment pivotally carried by said member for movements lengthwiseof said pad, means urging said abutment into a position out of registerwith the heel end of the pad, a latch for locking said abutment in aposition over the heel end of the pad when it is moved by the operatorinto said position, means operative in response to the contraction ofsaid heel abutment upon application or pressure therethrough forreleasing said latch, and means for locking said abutment in contractedcondition until said abutment is moved out of register with the pad uponrelease of pressure through the abutment on the work.

GEORGE E. COLLINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,111,606 Better Mar. 22, 19382,244,545 Smith June 3, 1941

